REVIEW: ‘Burn the Witch’ #0.8 — “Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover”

In a hidden version of London called Reverse London, Ninnie Spangle (Asami Tano, God of High School) and Noel Niihashi (Yuina Yamada) protect the populace from dark dragons as part of the Wind Binders. When a dragon pops up in our version of London, the duo must act quickly to stop its rampage and save Noel’s obsessed fan, Balgo (Shimba Tsuchiya) in Burn the Witch #0.8 from Studio Colorido and Team Yamashitsuji.

This latest entry in the series is a prequel to the original trio of episodes released in 2020. While it serves to reintroduce fans to the central characters of the series after its three-year absence, its primary function is to explain how Balgo came to be in Ninnie and Noel’s care due to his status as a Dragonclad, setting up the events of the original three episodes. Burn the Witch #0.8 works great in this regard. It fills in plenty of gaps present in the original’s narrative. While the missing information wasn’t essential, its presence here does make the series’ opening installments run a bit smoother.

Along with the bigger details that set up the series, we also learn smaller elements about the world. Moments like Noel’s using a phone booth to commute from our London to Reverse London in the morning are fun to see, along with some more details about how the Wind Binders organization is structured. While the added details about the world made this prequel worth experiencing, there is one element of the series it doubles down on that wasn’t necessary: Balgo’s obsession with Noel’s underwear.

In the original release, the series made it clear that Balgo was far fonder of Noel than he was of Ninnie, as he was always focused on her, often acting like Ninnie wasn’t even present. The only indication we had of a pervy element to this fixation was when his pet dog/dragon Osushi would proclaim, “Noel, show me your panties,” in a clear parrot-like mimicking of his master. This element was handled lightly enough in the original that it got a chuckle but never felt dirty. It was just a pet that was supposed to be calling out a normal teenage interest in someone he’s attracted to in an embarrassing way.

In Burn the Witch #0.8, the show doubles down on this element, showing Balgo trying to jump Noel in an active attempt to get a look under her skirt. There is also an entire scene where he can do nothing but pine for a glimpse of his fixation’s undergarments. It’s cringe-inducing and does nothing for the character, falling far short of the intended humor it is meant to bring to the entry. Hopefully, future entries will go back to the far lighter approach to this that the original release used.

While the focus on Noel’s underwear is regrettable, Burn The Witch #0.8 lets her take the lead in the larger story over Ninnie. Much of the previous arc focused on Ninnie and her life as an idol. Seeing Noel take center stage for a lot of this story shifts the balance between the duo, making them feel like they will be equals in the story as they take turns leading the narrative when the story moves forward.

The final element of the episode’s narrative comes with the appearance of dragons in London that Noel and Ninnie must confront. This confrontation does a great job of mixing original elements and classic dragon concepts. This mix of old and new allowed the battle to feel fresh while never making the viewer question whether or not it made sense to call the magical creatures dragons at all.

While the battle is fairly brief, Burn the Witch #0.8 delivers a lot during the confrontation. Some epic attacks are seen, distilling how powerful the witches are, especially Noel. The sense of speed from moments of flight and the sheer power of the major attacks that are unleashed breathe a feeling of elegance into the battle, shifting the focus from any sense of danger to just how breathtaking the moments are visually. Given that there is no chance that any of the characters involved will die since they are all in the original episodes, this approach fits perfectly to craft an impactful visual impression through the battle.

Burn the Witch #0.8 mostly succeeds in telling an engaging story that reintroduces the characters after their extended absence. While its attempt at comedy doesn’t always land, there is enough good here to leave many fans walking away with excitement for what will come next.

Burn the Witch #0.8 is streaming on Crunchyroll.